Why does 'Children's Journaling' help manage emotions?
Writing, drawing or creating a diary can help children to name what they feel and to order their inner world
BarcelonaOn social networks, the word journaling often goes hand in hand with stickers, glitter, and fluorescent markers. But in reality, it is the habit of writing experiences, thoughts, emotions, or memories in a notebook through writing, drawing, lists, collage, or questions. Many companies have seen a commercial vein in this and the practice has adapted to new audiences, such as children. However, beyond its marketing aspect, is it a tool that works? For Èlia López, doctor in educational sciences at the University of Barcelona (UB), the answer is yes. “"Oral history"}journaling can become an educational, pedagogical, and emotional tool of great value. Beyond aesthetics, it offers children a personal space for expression, awareness, and emotional regulation,” says López, who warns that “it should not be seen only as a creative or decorative activity, but as a pedagogical and emotional resource that can significantly contribute to children's well-being”.
Beyond aesthetics
Despite this brilliant image, with impossible and aesthetically well-crafted compositions, filling a diary with the experiences or feelings that the child has lived that day, is a tool that from emotional education has many benefits. “It favors essential emotional competencies for the integral development of children: it contributes to self-knowledge, because it helps to identify and understand what they feel and what they need; to emotional self-regulation, because it allows them to stop, reflect and better manage emotions before acting impulsively; and also to emotional autonomy, since it offers internal resources so that the child can face situations with more security and awareness,” enumerates López.
Why is it fashionable?
The journaling fits with three current trends: concern for child and adolescent mental health, emotional education in schools, and a return to analog activities that act as a counterweight to screens. In fact, many diverse practices have emerged, such as gratitude journal, a diary where the child thanks for good things that happened during the day; the emotion journal, in which he registers how he has felt; the bullet journal, where things that happened, tasks, habits or memories are schematically noted – “today I did…”, “today I remembered…”–, or the junk journal, which consists of creating a diary with clippings, tickets, and all sorts of materials, into a kind of visual memory.
Writing to understand what's going on inside
From the “dear diary” until now, with journaling, putting feelings into words is a therapeutic tool, for both adults and children; this is known as expressive writing. “There are experiences, emotions, or concerns that are often difficult to express verbally. In contrast, symbolic, visual, and creative language makes it easier for children to shape what they feel with more freedom and authenticity,” explains López. According to the expert, the process of creating, representing, and transforming what is internal into something visible helps to organize thoughts, gain emotional distance, and generate greater understanding about the child themselves. The main benefit is not “doing literature,” but establishing internal order.
No major lived experiences are needed, but rather everyday events that have stirred emotions: a fight at school, a surprise, or new sensations. “It allows thoughts to be focused from a more positive and constructive perspective, incorporating aspects such as gratitude, personal strengths, or small moments of daily well-being. The child feels they have their own space where they can express themselves freely, without fear of judgment or making mistakes,” details López. Precisely, this freedom reinforces the child's self-confidence, just as it also fosters creativity and emotional autonomy.
What does science say?
The most solid scientific basis does not talk so much about journaling for children, but about expressive writing: writing about thoughts and emotions linked to difficult, stressful, or significant situations. A meta-analysis on adolescents aged 10 to 18 reviewed 21 studies and found small but positive effects on emotional distress, problem behavior, social adjustment, and school participation. However, the authors emphasize that it is a promising tool, but not definitive or a substitute for psychological intervention when there is significant suffering.